Cooling advice (Non OC)

You definitely need some case fans. 120mm would be best, if you are worried about noise then get the auto sensing antec fans which spin faster the hotter the inside of the case is based on the built in heat sensor. Or if you want manual control for them buy a fan controller to manually control the rpms of the fans. More air flow is better so if you go with either the heat sensor or the fan controller get fans that can move at least 60 cfm.

The side case fan is a good idea because it can deliver cool air from outside the case right above the cpu which needs it the most, I would mod the opening so that you can put a 120mm there as well (some simple work with a dremel (power rotery tool) can do this. A top vent (with or without fan) can help as well, the simple way is to just drill some holes in the top of the case over the motherboard.

One case-mod that's totally worth the work, is the often overlooked TOP exhaust vent.

Letting all the rising heat to accelerate out the top will guarantee a drop of a few degrees, without too much hassle.

My current case has not yet undergone this treatment due to a tad bit of lazyness... oh but it's coming, you can on that! :-)

Google some directions for the easiest way, but off the top of my head, I'm thinkin' a stencel and adremel tool will be the easiest way.

Sorry if this post is a bit out-of-wack, but I'm a bit drunk (tough day @ work)

If currently you have zero case fans, then one at the rear will definately help, aiding the PSU fan to suck out warm air. Adding a second to the front will help to supply fresh, colder air. If you dont want to add the third (the 80mm), consider either modding the grill/opening to accomodate a 120mm fan (mentioned above) or perhaps simply attaching a duct to it that comes close to the top of your Blue Orb to help the HS draw fresh air directly to the CPU. The perk being no added noise to supply the CPU with fresh air.

All of this comes at the expense of your time, effort, and resourcefulness to get the desired result.

Like I mentioned the dremel is a good way to do this but I also forgot to mention using a hole saw, this is probably the fastest way to put a hole in your case, plus it will be perfectly round unlike a dremel.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm not keen on modding my case to be honest, but I probably will get one or two 120mm fans.

I am a guy that likes a quiet pc, or maybe even near silent, so I was thinking of getting the Scythe Ninja CPU cooler. I was wondering how this thing would cool my Intel 930? And the noise of it with a 120mm fan? I can't find many useful reviews that give temps on the 8xx or 9xx with a Ninja.

Hellz yeah, a hole-saw will definetly do it the fastest ;-)

The Scythe will cool better than the Blue Orb. But it sounds like case airflow is your biggest problem. Also, did you use some quality thermal paste, such as AS 5/3, and not TOO much of it? A blowhole with a low rpm 120mm fan would be great, and quiet, and put as many low rpm 120mm fans(still quiet) front and back, as will fit. I'm not familiar with your case, but some side fans(mine) are right inline with the graphics card, which will help cool that, so i would suggest a quiet side fan also. Quiet fans are better than no fans so, although you most certainly won't reach the LOW temp that you did with the "house fan" you can still drop the temps nicely, without going deaf. It's just going to cost you a few bucks worth of fans. GL  

Get the Silverstone 120mm and 80mm fan for the front back and side and or you could make that side panel fan bigger to fit 120mm fan to increase cool air flow to the HSF.

See im a fan of Vantec Tornadoes.


That sidepanel should be filled with this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...

You could probably remove the house fan and render it needless if you insatalled one of these inside your case by the arm that comes with it and have it directly overhanging above your cpu's heatsink/fan and video card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1683...

I think the main problem here is that he needs more airflow THROUGH the case not more fans blowing the same air around the inside... but those brackets are pretty nifty. A friend of mine has one over his x850pro.

-mcg

i still think a vantec tornadoe on the side panel will solve all the problems

I like Tornado's too, but this is what the OP said:

"I am a guy that likes a quiet pc, or maybe even near silent"

Tornado's don't quite cut it, if this is your preference. :wink:

*cough* fan controller *cough*

Even on fan controllers, Tornado's have a distinctive whine to them. Even when turned down to 6-7 volts. That sort of defeats the purpose of having a Tornado though, don't you think? :?

i plan on installing a tornado on my friends shuttle :twisted: :twisted:


ehehe. i have warned him about sound but he doesnt care

Did you warn him that a SFF case is smaller, and lighter, and with a Tornado...may just go sailing around the room(like a balloon that the end is untied on) PFFTTT.  

ill tell him to buy some tires, he can sit on it and go to LAN parties.

It'll will be like the space"SHUTTLE". :wink: hehehehe

lol

I've got a Scythe Ninja on an Intel 830D processor, using the same MB as you have. My case is an Antec Sonata 2.

As it turns out, the CPU HS lines up directly with the Antec 120mm TriCool case fan (3 settings, manually controlled). So I've got the fan from the Scythe blowing through the cooler, and the 120mm fan blowing out. Both fans are set to their lowest setting.

My idle temp is around 32C, and under extended load, it gets up to about 55. That's a drop of 7 to 10 degrees compared to the stock cooler. It's also the quietest computer I've ever used. The noisiest thing in my system is the HD access now. The other nice thing about this setup is that the fans don't speed up and slow down all the time, like they did with the stock cooler. Yeah, I could have just set the fans to be on a high setting all the time, but then it would be consistently noisy, which wasn't really my goal.

BTW, I also try turning the case fan around to blow onto the cooler (without the HS fan), as there was only an inch between the two. Temps were back up to the stock cooler temps, with the case fan in the lowest setting. But the Scythe fan doesn't add any noticable sound to the system, and it keeps things cooler, so I figured I'd leave it this way. The way I've got it right now also works much better for keeping the case temps down, as the hot air is being blown out directly.

Your system, with the 930D processor, should be cooler than mine, so the Scythe should be fine